Better than polystyrene?

[stern69]

Is there something out there that can be used like polystyrene to make fake rock hides etc but ISN'T made up of loads of little balls?

I've made some pretty good stuff over time with polystyrene but there's only so much detail you can get with it.

Something with the consistency of that oasis stuff florists use maybe....?

Any ideas anyone...?

[Jay-Jay]

How about that oasis stuff florists use :P

No actually it is quite cheap from suppliers and is very easy to work with.

[stern69]

Haha cheers mate. How does it take to being grouted and painted though? Would defo be great to work with mind!

I have put another post up about modelling clay. Any ideas....?

[Jay-Jay]

Not sure about clay never used it but the oasis is fine to be grouted if you dont make the grout too watery.

When I got my oasis I opened an account with a supplier and this enabled me to get a box with 20 blocks in for £7. Go into a florist and price it up they are after £30

[dan.hobley]

poly foam sheets work well!! thats what i used.

like hard pink foam sheets

[Jim2109]

Oasis is a nightmare to grout, its too crumbly. it works well with resin though. the easiest by far is Space Foam. it costs more but its worth it! £20 gets you 4 big sheets of it, about 4 x 1.5ft.

expanding foam is underrated as well. you can cover your viv in masking tape, spray the expanding foam into the corners and you can make all sorts of cool rocky shapes. once its all set you can remove it from the viv thanks to the masking tape, and then grout it. its not too easy to grout though.

[nogatsira]

Originally Posted by Jim2109

Oasis is a nightmare to grout, its too crumbly. it works well with resin though. the easiest by far is Space Foam. it costs more but its worth it! £20 gets you 4 big sheets of it, about 4 x 1.5ft.

expanding foam is underrated as well. you can cover your viv in masking tape, spray the expanding foam into the corners and you can make all sorts of cool rocky shapes. once its all set you can remove it from the viv thanks to the masking tape, and then grout it. its not too easy to grout though.

I agree on expanding foam being underrated. Tomorrow I'll be putting pics up of my new leo tank (if I don't forget to bring my cam once more ...) and I've used it with lots of succes imho.
It is kinda messy and hard to use but once you master it, it will be an awesome addon to your vivs.
As for grouting expanding foam: make it more watery and just do a few more layers!

[Jim2109]

i used expanding foam on top of grout to do some rock structures (it was an afterthought), it came out awesome. but where it contracts as it cures it has ripped up all the grout, DOH! needs a load of extra work now, but its going to look awesome still.

[Arrogant Dew]

Just a tip for expanding foam. Get a foam gun, cost about £14 and you have to buy the foam in a different tin. but have more controll and you dont have to use the tin in one go. You'll have a realy usefull tool for all sorts of jobs around the home.

[onemanandhisfrog]

i used a combination of polystyrene and expanding foam, for 1 hide i blew up a balloon a little bit covered it in expanding foam then cut away a rocky structure after it had set and it turned out pretty good